BELMONT — The Bronx Zoo is not a good place to be an elephant, according to an international animal protection group.
In Defense of Animals, an activist group based in San Rafael, Calif., recently released its list of the 10 worst zoos for elephants in North America for 2014, and the Bronx institution grabbed the No. 5 spot on the list.
The organization blasts the zoo for making its elephants Happy, Patty and Maxine deal with "harsh winters" and "absurdly small enclosures."
IDA also criticizes the zoo, which made the group's elephant list in 2013, 2012 and 2009, for forcing Happy to live by herself.
Happy is kept in a separate facility because Patty and Maxine have attacked her, a symptom of living in the zoo's cramped, confined space, according to IDA.
"What we’re seeing when we go to these zoos, especially the Bronx Zoo, we’re seeing shells of elephants who are not capable of reaching their potential physically or mentally," said IDA Elephant Scientist Dr. Toni Frohoff. "So what we call aggression is really symptomatic of the problems with the stress and the cruelty of captivity."
Elephants are very social creatures, and the solution to Happy's plight is simple, according to Frohoff: transfer her to an elephant sanctuary so she can spend the rest of her life with other elephants who do not attack her.
"The Bronx Zoo has the opportunity to come out either as a villain or a hero in this regard," she said. "If Happy dies alone in the zoo, that will be their legacy, and it will not be forgotten."
The Bronx Zoo did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Two other New York zoos are on IDA's list as well: The Buffalo Zoo, which the group lambasts for providing its elephants with tiny living spaces and inadequate social activities, and The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, which the group chastises for separating the 6-year-old elephant Chuck from his mother last year.
The Buffalo Zoo disputed its place on IDA's list, saying it provides each of its elephants with about 925 square feet of space and relies on verbal commands and positive reinforcement to manage them.
“They’re very well adapted to the exhibit and its keepers," said Buffalo Zoo President Donna Fernandes in a statement. "We think they’re doing well here.”
The No. 1 zoo on the list this year was the Natural Bridge Zoo in Natural Bridge, VA, which IDA says has kept a female elephant named Asha alone for almost a decade and forced her to give rides under the threat of physical abuse.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo did not respond to a request for comment, and the Natural Bridge Zoo could not be reached.
